Mayor Harkinian
by hrtiu
Summary: Modern ZeLink AU where Zelda Harkinian is the youngest person to ever be mayor of the small city of Hyrule. When Hyrule is struck by the devastating Hurricane Ganon, it is up to Zelda and Officer Link Kokiri to keep the citizens of Hyrule safe. Also, Zelda has a rule against dating city employees, but Link is making it harder and harder to keep that rule.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

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 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Welcome to my first AU story! I wanted to write a modern AU where Link and Zelda's roles most closely mirror who they are in the games, and this is what I came up with. Also I should note that this story was very loosely inspired by one of my favorite shows, Parks and Recreation. The main conflict is only hinted at in this chapter, but we'll get to it pretty soon. Let me know if you like this idea and I'll write more :) reviews are always appreciated!**

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Mayor Zelda Harkinian surreptitiously looked at her watch, hoping no one in the audience noticed. It was already 9 PM, and this City Council meeting was supposed to have ended hours ago.

"-and we will NOT back down until the _oppression_ of the Hyrule School District ends and the teachers of Hyrule High School are finally able to engage with their students without being weighed down by the shackles of unfair wages!" Ruto Zorza said, ending her speech with a dramatic flourish, and the crowd cheered her on. Ruto stood at the podium between the audience and the City Council, wearing a tight blue dress that really flattered her tall, graceful figure. She had been the final speaker of several teachers from the high school, and they had unleashed a stream of frustration and vitriol at the City Council that would surely not leave a good example for their students.

Zelda resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Ruto was the drama teacher at Hyrule High School, and she was currently utilizing all of her drama skills to make her point. Zelda and Ruto had actually both attended Hyrule High School years earlier, and so Zelda was already familiar with Ruto's penchant for melodrama. That was one of the things that Zelda loved about the small city of Hyrule-people tended stay for generations.

To be fair to Ruto, Zelda didn't exactly disagree with her. The teachers at Hyrule High School were definitely not paid enough. Most people in Hyrule agreed on that-what they did not agree on was who was going to fork over the cash to increase salaries.

When the crowd appeared to have finished clapping, Zelda cleared her throat into the microphone.

"Thank you, Ms Zorza. I think we can all agree that Hyrule High School boasts some of the best teachers in the country, and that they all deserve a good salary. Unfortunately, the School Board has more control over teachers' salaries than City Council does, so this may not be the best location to hash this out."

Ruto stood, an indignant look on her haughty features, but Zelda raised a calming hand to stem whatever outburst was forthcoming.

"I know you have already spoken with the School Board. My understanding was that the last meeting to try and resolve this issue did not end well. I have spoken with Superintendent Gaebora, and he agreed that the School Board needs to take the Teachers Union's concerns more seriously, and he has agreed to meet with representatives from the Teachers Union again, hopefully some time next week."

Ruto and her fellow teachers looked somewhat mollified, but they didn't seem happy about it. In Zelda's experience, people sometimes came to these meetings to shout and scream about something, and it could be disconcerting if they suddenly had nothing to shout and scream about any more.

"Now, I know that this is not enough," Zelda continued. "Teachers need support, and they need it now. Not only for their salaries, but to fund sports, after school programs, drama programs," she said, nodding to Ruto, "and more. But as we all know, money has been tight for the city lately. Even the state government is feeling the squeeze, and we don't get as much funding from them any more. So to citizens who care about our schools, first I would suggest that you attend the Nights in Gerudo Dinner and Raffle Fundraiser taking place this Saturday. It promises to be a fun night with authentic Gerudo food and music, and all proceeds will go towards the Hyrule Educational Fund. Second, I will be proposing a property tax in the upcoming elections, and all funds generated by this tax will go towards supporting our teachers and schools. If you are concerned about the school's budget, vote yes on this new tax, and encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same. I know I will."

Zelda's speech was greeted with scattered applause, and Zelda shrugged internally. That was a better reaction than she usually got. Saria, her good friend and assistant, leaned over from her seat on the semicircular table at which the Council Members sat and nudged Zelda in the arm.

"Great job, Zelda." she whispered, "I think that was about as good of a reaction as you could have hoped for."

Zelda smiled back at her friend, grateful for her consistent support. Whenever Zelda started to get pessimistic about their town and government work in general, Saria was always there to turn things around. Zelda looked down at her agenda, hoping that they were near the end. She leaned back towards the microphone to announce their next guests.

"And now we have the Science Olympiad Team from Ordon Middle School, who won second place in the entire state. Team members Beth, Colin, Malo, and Talo went head-to-head against 40 other teams from around the state, and did us proud. Way to represent Hyrule, guys!" Zelda said, clapping her hands to try and get a round of applause going for the gaggle of awkward middle schoolers now shuffling up to the podium in front of the Council. Internally, she winced. She'd forgotten that they would be here tonight, and it was unfortunate that this group of kids had to hear all of the screaming and shouting about teachers' salaries from earlier in the night. It was also unfortunate that they and their parents were now still at a City Council meeting that was supposed to have ended at 7.

Still, she needed to put on a good show of it. Zelda stood from her seat and pulled some heavy, metal medallions out of a cardboard box she'd brought for the occasion, then maneuvered her way around the Council's semicircular table to present the medals to the students. She announced their names one by one at the podium, and placed the medals around each neck personally, relishing these uncomplicated moments when she got to feel like she was making a difference.

Zelda returned to her seat satisfied, and was glad to see the Olympiad Team members' parents ushering them out of the building as soon as they got their medals. This was a school night, after all. Zelda looked back down at her agenda and noted with relief that there was only one more speaker for the night.

"Officer Link Kokiri," she said into the microphone. Why was that name so familiar?

A man in dark jeans and a green t-shirt headed up to the podium, and Zelda remembered where she knew him from. She looked back at Saria, and Saria waggled her eyebrows outrageously.

This was Saria's friend, the police officer that she had been trying to set Zelda up with for ages. Zelda had politely declined, of course. The Police Department was headquartered in City Hall, and Zelda had a personal rule about not dating people who worked for city government. At 30 years old, she was the youngest mayor of Hyrule _ever_ , not to mention one of the first female mayors. She wanted to be taken seriously, and dating a coworker or employee was definitely not the way to go.

Still, Zelda felt a slight twinge of regret upon finally seeing Saria's oft-mentioned friend. He was a pretty good-looking guy, and if Saria vouched for him he must be nice too. He had sharp features, a slim but toned figure, and messy blond hair. To be honest, he wasn't the type Zelda usually went for, but she couldn't deny he had a certain appeal. Zelda was focused on her career and on helping Hyrule, but that didn't mean she wanted to be alone. She hadn't dated anyone in a while, and sometimes she wished she had more romance in her life.

Officer Kokiri, or Link, as Saria always referred to him, finally reached the podium and cleared his throat.

"Hi, I'm Officer Link Kokiri from the Hyrule Police Department. I guess I… maybe I should have worn my uniform but I kind of thought this was a more informal thing…" he trailed off.

Zelda's eyebrows rose. He was a little awkward, wasn't he?

"Well anyway, thanks to the Council for seeing me today. I came because two of Hyrule's four backup generators are on pretty low land, and I think they could flood next time a hurricane comes around. I think there Council should move these generators to higher ground."

Zelda wasn't really sure what she thought he'd come to say, but concerns about emergency preparedness were definitely not high on her list. Still, if what Link said was true it was definitely worth looking into. Hyrule was a coastal city, built on a hill that sloped downwards towards the ocean. Hurricanes were usually not too serious around here, but they came every year and flooding in the lower parts of the city was not uncommon.

"Thank you for bringing that to our attention, Officer Kokiri. Public Works usually handles these kinds of things. Have you already brought your concerns to Public Works?"

"Yes, I did. But Mr. Groose from Public Works just said that the generators were up to code and there was nothing to worry about. Then I tried to meet with you, Mayor Harkinian, but I couldn't get an appointment."

Link paused, looking upset.

"I live near one of the generators-the one near Ordon Middle School-and I know that flooding around there has been pretty bad before. I really think the Council should look into this," Link said, voice speeding up the more he talked. Zelda got the distinct impression he usually didn't say so much at once.

Bill Groose, who also happened to be on the City Council, looked up from his cell phone upon hearing his name mentioned, and his face reddened with embarrassment and anger.

"Madam Mayor, we have looked into those generators and they are perfectly safe. Otherwise, I would have taken care of them. You know that!"

Zelda looked at her watch again. It was already past 10 PM. Bill was a pretty hot-headed guy, and she didn't want the City Council meeting to turn into another near-brawl. She'd have to figure out a way to resolve this quickly.

"Of course, Bill. I know you run a tight ship over at Public Works," she said in a pacifying tone. "However, I do think we should at least consider what Officer Kokiri is saying. It's already 10 PM, and I think we all want to head home for the night. How about I speak with Officer Kokiri personally tomorrow, and we can get this resolved. Will that work for you, Officer Kokiri? Do you have time in the afternoon?"

Link's eyebrows rose in surprise. It was rather last minute, but in Zelda's experience if you wanted to get something done in this city you needed to take decisive action. Eventually Link nodded.

"Sure. I get off duty at 2:00, so any time after that would work."

Zelda clapped her hands.

"Excellent. Talk with my assistant Saria after the meeting and we'll get an appointment scheduled. Normally, we'd end these meetings with a summary and discussion of the next Council meetings' agenda, but I think I speak for all of us when I say we should just close the meeting so everyone can get home."

Most of the audience had weakened and left by now, but Zelda saw relieved sighs and nods throughout the remaining attendees. She gathered up her things, nodding, smiling, and shaking hands with the people she needed to, then headed to her car with Saria by her side.

"So, did you set up an appointment with Officer Kokiri?" She asked her friend as they stroked through the fluorescent-lit parking lot.

"Yes, you'll be meeting him at 3 PM tomorrow. Isn't he cute?!"

Zelda grimaced at Saria, who's green eyes sparkled in her pixie-like face. Saria was unfailingly sweet, but she was also generally very calm and collected. She didn't usually get carried away like this.

"If you think he's so great, why don't you date him?"

Saria wrinkled her sharp nose in distaste.

"No way. I love him like a brother-it would just be too weird.

"Well, tomorrow we'll be discussing emergency preparedness and nothing more, so you'll just have to find someone else to set me up with."

Saria laughed, her voice light and tinkly in the cool night air.

"I just might take you up on that," she said.

* * *

Zelda was frustrated. She'd been trying to make sense of a city budget spreadsheet for a good hour, and she wasn't having much success. To be honest, the spreadsheet was a mess. Half of the numbers were hardcoded in and the other half were formulas, things appeared to have been copied and pasted haphazardly throughout the workbook, and none of the sheets had been named. Zelda let out a heavy sigh. She considered herself to be something of an Excel master, so these poorly constructed budget spreadsheet were particularly painful. Didn't the budget specialist know how to use Excel? Did she have to do everything herself?

She was deep in the bowels of the school board's budget when a knock at the door to her office broke through her concentration.

"Saria, I'm kind of in the middle of something-" she said before looking up and realizing her visitor was not Saria.

"I uh… Sorry, I thought I had an appointment," Officer Kokiri said from her doorframe, looking uncertain as to whether he should stay or go. Zelda glanced down at her watch. How was it already 3 PM?

"Oh no, you're totally right, my mistake. Come on in."

Link walked into her office, hesitating only a moment before taking a seat in one of the two chairs Zelda always left for visitors on the opposite side of her desk. Link must have been on duty today, because he was wearing his badge and black uniform. His black pants and slacks fit him much better than any piece of clothing deserved to fit, and the whole ensemble had Zelda appreciating the allure of a man in uniform more than she ever had before.

"Thanks for coming in today. I'm sorry you had such a hard time getting an appointment-I try to make myself as accessible as possible."

"That's all right."

"I looked into the generators you mentioned," said Zelda, rifling through a stack of papers in her desk drawer. Eventually, she pulled out an elevation map of the city with major parts of the Public Works system marked on it.

"These are the generators you were talking about, right? And these two are on relatively low elevation, right?"

Link nodded as she pointed to the worrisome generators.

"Yes. Flood waters have been pretty close to them in the past. If we had a serious hurricane, I think they could easily be flooded."

"I agree. I asked for flood level estimates from the state Emergency Management Agency and it's definitely within the realm of possibility that those generators could be flooded," Zelda said.

Link was silent for a beat. It seemed he'd come prepared to argue his case and now, finding that unnecessary, didn't know what to say.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention," Zelda continued, "I've already spoken with Public Works and we're putting together a plan to move the generators to higher ground. It will take some time and money, but guaranteeing the safety of our citizens is my highest priority."

Link blinked in surprise, then put his hands on his knees.

"Wow, thank you. I guess that's all I really wanted to talk about."

Zelda leaned back in her chair, pleased at having resolved his concerns.

"You seem surprised. What, did you think I was just going to stonewall you?"

Link glanced at the ceiling with an awkward smile, looking abashed.

"No, not exactly… I'd just heard it takes forever to get anything done in city government."

"Well, not to brag but I'm pretty good at my job," said Zelda, smiling in satisfaction. It always felt good to exceed people's' expectations. Link chuckled a little under his breath,

"So when do you think the generators will be moved? Will they be moved by hurricane season? The one by the middle school I'm particular I'm worried about. Everyone knows that the high school is an evacuation center."

Zelda smile fell a little. She had been hoping he wouldn't ask that question. She'd managed to get a pretty good deadline set for the generators, but it still wouldn't happen over night.

"One of them will be moved by then, if everything goes according to plan. The other generator will have to wait until next year, though." Zelda shrugged, trying not to show how much the delay bothered her. "I could only scrape enough money together from the Public Works department for one generator relocation a year."

Officer Kokiri's good mood appeared to have been diminished by the news as well.

"Well, that's better than nothing. Thanks so much, I really appreciate you doing this," he said, starting to rise from his seat.

"Wait a moment, I had one other thing I wanted to discuss with you."

The officer froze halfway out of his chair, looking as if he had been identified in a police lineup.

"Uh… sure. What is it?"

"Well," said Zelda, leaning forward with an almost predatory smile, "since you seem so passionate about emergency preparedness, I wanted to nominate you to the Disaster Preparedness Committee. They meet once a month to discuss the city's preparedness plans, and in the case of an emergency, they help administer the plan."

Link looked sideways, as if trying to locate escape routes. Zelda smirked a little to herself. By bringing this up in City Council, he'd practically already volunteered for the position. Zelda was always trying to get people to staff these committees, and the process could feel like pulling teeth. Now here Link was, offering himself up as a sacrificial lamb on the altar of public service.

"But I… I'm already a police officer. In case of an emergency, I'll already have my own responsibilities to fulfill."

"I know that," said Zelda, waving her hand dismissively, "but that's what makes you perfect for the role. We need a liaison between the Disaster Preparedness Committee and the Police Department. You can work out with the Committee and the Department exactly what your role will be during an emergency."

Link, fully standing now, scratched the back of his head uncertainly.

"I… I'm not sure. I'll have to talk with Chief Impa first."

"I already spoke with her, and she thinks it's a wonderful idea," said Zelda. She already had him on the line, now she just had to reel him in.

"Ok," said Link reluctantly, "I guess I can join. Who do I talk to? When are the meetings?"

"You'll want to talk to Ashei Yi about that. She'll email you soon with more information, but the basics are that you meet the first Tuesday of every month in the School Board room at five. I'll drop by the next meeting to make sure you're getting settled in," Zelda said with a sweet smile. He would have no way of getting out of this.

"Ok… I guess I will see you then," said Link, starting to back up a little. he probably wanted to get out of the office before inadvertently getting signed up for any other committees. Zelda didn't blame him.

"Sure!" said Zelda brightly. "Thanks again for coming in. Together we can make Hyrule a safer place to live!"

Link gave her a half smile, then turned to leave, nearly running into Saria. Saria had been hurrying into the office with a stack of forms, and she had to readjust the glasses that had almost been knocked from her face by the collision. Glasses firmly in place, she was finally able to recognize her old friend.

"Oh, hey there Link!"

"Hi Saria."

"It's nice to see you finally got to meet up with Zelda," said Saria with a meaningful smile.

Link blushed and turned so that Zelda could no longer see his face.

"Er… Yeah, it's nice. I gotta head back to the precinct. See you later," he said, then beat a hasty retreat out of the office.

Saria walked up to Zelda's desk and set the forms in front of her with a heavy thud.

"Zelda," said Saria in her sternest voice, "Did you bully him? You were supposed to date him, not enslave him!"

Zelda waved her hand dismissively.

"Same difference. And besides, I already told you. I won't date anyone employed by the city government. It's not kosher."

Saria let out a massive sigh.

"Says you! There's no rule about it anywhere, I've checked. It's just you and your self-imposed misery."

"I'd hardly call my life _miserable_ Saria."

"Ok, sorry. I didn't mean that. I just… He's a really nice guy and I want you to be happy. And I want him to be happy. And I want you two to be happy together!"

"I know, I get it. But I'm not going to change my mind on this. Set me up with someone who doesn't work at city hall, and I'll go out with him at least once. I promise."

"Promise?!" Saria said, an intense hope sparking in her eyes.

"...Sure," Zelda said with some reluctance.

"Great! Well, now that that's settled, let's get back to business."

Zelda nodded as Saria chatted merrily away about today's agenda. As her diminutive friend continued, Zelda had a sneaking suspicion she would come to regret that promise.

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 **First chapter done! Let me know what you think! Interesting? Worth continuing!? Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story does have a slightly slow start, but it will really get moving next chapter, which should be posted pretty soon. I'd really appreciate feedback. I am trying to create some good relationships between characters, but I'm worried it's just coming across boring. Please let me know!**

 **Also I kind of had a headcannon of Ashei as April Ludgate, which was adorable.**

Several weeks later, as promised, Zelda appeared at the Disaster Preparedness Committee's monthly meeting. She arrived just as the meeting ended, and was pleased to see that Link had not shirked his duties. Not everyone she strong armed into public service followed through with their semi-coerced duties, so she was grateful to him. She caught his eye as he was putting away the folding chairs the group had used for the meeting and gave him an appreciative smile, then went to find Ashei.

Ashei Yi was the chairwoman of the Disaster Preparedness Committee, and she took her role very seriously. Her cool, impassive face was framed by two incongruously cute jet black pigtails, and she and had started working at City Hall only a few years after Zelda. Initially, Ashei had been an exceedingly apathetic public servant, and Zelda had had to practically drag her by the hair to get anything done. She had eventually found her calling in the Water and Power Department. Zelda wasn't quite sure what it was about Water and Power that motivated Ashei, but she had always been difficult to figure out.

"Ashei! Nice to see you. How was today's meeting?"

"It went well, yeah. We caught Link up to speed on what we've been doing to plan for hurricane season and he had some pretty good ideas, yeah."

Zelda smiled.

"Great! Well, hurricane season is pretty much already here, I'd love to know what you have planned. Could you email me what you guys have come up with?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Ashei. "I'll send it tomorrow."

A thin man with dirty blond hair and perfectly round glasses bounded up to Ashei.

"Hey, Ash, we were all going to go to Telma's to watch the rest of the game. Want to come? Um, the mayor is also welcome, of course," he added, nervously pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Sure, Shad," said Ashei. "Zelda, want to come too? It should be fun, yeah."

Truth be told, Zelda was pretty tired, and the idea of going to a bar wasn't entirely appealing. But networking and meeting as many people as possible all came with the territory of being mayor. She would never be able to properly serve Hyrule if she didn't know the people.

"I'd like to come, but I live really close by, so I walked here. Do you think I could get a ride?"

"Yeah, no problem."

Zelda and the members of the Disaster Preparedness Committee found a booth in the corner of Telma's bar with a good view of one of the large TVs showing the game, and Zelda soon found herself nursing an iced tea at the sticky table with a couple of old friends and more new ones. They were all supposedly watching the baseball game, but mostly they just chatted. Zelda learned that Shad taught math at the local community college, that Bolson owned his own construction company, and that Beedle ran a chain of convenience stories. Link and Ashei she already knew, although she certainly felt like she was learning more about them as well. For instance, although Ashei was hard to read, Zelda became increasingly convinced that she was harboring a major crush on the bookish Shad. The fourth time Ashei clapped Shad vigorously on the shoulder to make a point, Zelda shot her a questioning look. Ashei looked away quickly and muttered something like, "yeah, well, yeah," and Zelda smiled knowingly.

Eager to move on from whatever strange looks Zelda was levelling at her, Ashei looked to Link, who was on the opposite side of the table from Shad, and spoke.

"So, uh, Link, I hear you like fishing, yeah."

Link, who'd been staring silently into his drink, looked up.

"Yeah, I do. Do you fish too?"

"Yeah."

Everyone at the table waited for one of the two of them to ask some kind of follow up question, but both Ashei and Link seemed content to let the conversation end at that. After an awkward silence, Beedle decided that if they weren't going to move the discussion forward, he would.

"Do you fish on the lake then, Link? Or in the ocean?"

"Mostly on the lake."

Lake Hylia, which was only a few miles out of town, was a popular fishing spot for many a resident of Hyrule, and Zelda herself had spent numerous summer afternoons on the lake. Talk of fishing on the lake brought back memories of long, lazy evenings with her Dad, catching little but talking a lot.

"You have your own boat and everything, right? I think I've sold you some equipment before," said Beedle.

Link nodded.

"I bought a boat recently… It's been nice, being able to go fishing whenever I want without paying any rental fees."

"Do you cook any of the fish you catch? Or do you usually let them go?" Zelda asked, deciding to jump into the conversation.

Link, who'd seemed rather uncomfortable for most of the evening, lit up.

"I let a lot of them go, but I love cooking fish too. Smoked, fried, baked, cooked in stew, I've tried it all."

Seeing Link opening up brightened Zelda as well. She truly enjoyed cooking, but more than that, she loved this moment in a conversation, when two people found something in common and things just clicked. As a politician, she had to partake in a lot of small talk with a lot of people, but she could always tell when a conversation shifted from the inconsequential to the sincere.

Zelda took a moment to check herself. Maybe she was getting a little carried away. He might seem a little more engaged, but they were still just talking about fish.

"I love cooking too! I feel like my fish always come out dry though," said Zelda.

"Do you keep the head on?" asked Link, deadly serious.

"Uh, no. I don't like to eat the head, so I take it off before I cook it."

"Well, that's where you're going wrong. A lot of flavor comes from the head, and if you keep it on it will retain moisture better."

Strange as it was (they were talking about fish heads, after all), this was the most animated she had ever seen Link, and Zelda found that emotion complimented his features quite nicely.

"Thanks, I'll have to try that next time. I usually just pan fry my fish, but I feel like they always end up overcooked."

"Yeah, pan frying can be tricky. I think the key is to only flip the fish once, so it's cooked once on one side and once on the other…"

Link looked about ready to explain every possible way to cook a fish, but Bolson, whose eyes were glued to the TV, cut him off.

"Come on! Every time they're about to win, they _somehow_ find a way of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!"

Bolson threw his hands up in the air dramatically, although his face remained grimly still. Shad patted the distraught man on the arm, while Zelda looked at up at the TV and saw that the Termina Tornadoes had just barely lost the ball game. Hyrule, small as it was, had no baseball team of their own, so most residents were fans of the state capital Termina's team.

Ashei let out a heavy sigh.

"Well, once Bolson gets like this, there's not much anyone can do. We should probably call it a night."

"Yeah," said Beedle. "I gotta open the downtown store tomorrow bright and early."

"I should probably get back soon, too. Early meetings, you know?" said Zelda, relieved to have an excuse to get home. As much as she liked talking about cooking, she was getting tired, and bars weren't really her favorite place to meet people.

"Oh really? That's a shame, I wanted to stay and watch the National Spelling Bee. Telma plays it here, just for me. Anyone else want to hang around for the show?" said Shad. He let out an uncertain chuckle at the incredulous looks his friends shot his way and scratched the back of his neck. "It sounds really lame but it's actually really fun…"

Zelda was almost shocked by how incredibly nerdy Shad was being. Who watches the National Spelling Bee at a bar? But Ashei seemed genuinely interested. Ashei looked between Shad and Zelda for a moment, clearly torn.

"That might be fun, yeah… But I need to give Zelda a ride home."

No. No way was Zelda going to keep this from happening. Ashei was definitely not the kind of person who would want to watch the National Spelling Bee, so now Zelda was 100% certain she had a crush on Shad. And this could be an important night for them! Zelda took her job as mayor very seriously, and part of her duty was the ensure the happiness of her constituents. Zelda was about to protest that she could take a taxi or the bus when Link cut in.

"I can take her home. It's on my way, anyway. You live right by City Hall, right?"

"Thanks! You can just drop me off at City Hall," said Zelda, relieved both to have a ride home and to give her friend an opportunity for romance.

Zelda followed Link to his car, a beat up old pickup truck of a truly ghastly reddish-brown shade. The truck was high, with no foot step, so Link gallantly gave her a hand so she could climb up into the passenger seat.

"Thanks for giving me a ride," she said as Link buckled up into his own seat and started the ignition.

"No problem. Shad really likes Ashei, and I wanted to give them a chance to hang out together alone," Link responded easily.

"Really? She hasn't said anything, but I am _certain_ Ashei has a thing for Shad."

"Well then, cheers to us for being such excellent matchmakers."

"To us," said Zelda in agreement.

Zelda looked out the window as they pulled onto the highway. They quickly left Telma's, which was near the center of the city, and drove north towards City Hall. They passed the moonlit Zora River, the neon-glowing Bombchu Bowling Alley, Lanayru Elementary School, and Lon Lon Grocers. She always loved looking out at the city when she drove-it reminded her of her purpose, of why she went to meetings, fought for policies, attended fundraisers, handed out flyers, worked late hours, and did all of the other things that came along with being mayor of a small city.

Link cleared his throat, interrupting Zelda from her reverie.

"So, I knew in High School you'd be successful, but I never imagined you'd be mayor in just over ten years. What's it been like?"

"High School? You were in my year?" Zelda said, confused. She didn't remember knowing Link in High School.

"Well, I was a freshman when you were a senior. I guess it makes sense you wouldn't remember me. You were a big deal, being Student Body President and all. I was just a shrimpy freshman."

"Really? Yeah, sorry I don't remember you… I really thought I knew everyone in High School. How do you know Saria then? She was in my same year."

"Saria and I were next door neighbors growing up. Her brother Mido and I were the same age so I came over to play a lot, but I always got along better with her than Mido."

"Huh, that's funny…" Zelda said, trailing off. Saria was slightly uncomfortable territory, as they were both trying to ignore the fact that Saria was trying to set them up.

Zelda risked a glance at Link, whose eyes were focused on the road, and immediately regretted it. He had a nice profile, and the conversation was flowing fairly well. He was probably the best prospect, romance-wise, that she'd met in years. That was bad, because she had already decided she wouldn't go out with him. She should probably avoid casual encounters with him in the future. She didn't want to give herself ideas, or give him any false impressions.

"So… What's the being the Mayor of Hyrule been like? Any different from how you expected?" Link asked, trying to restart the conversation.

"It's nice," said Zelda, looking back out the window. This was good. Work was a pretty safe topic of conversation. Decidedly un-romantic, not like reminiscing about childhood or anything personal like that.

"I mean, it's hard, but it's fulfilling. As far as expectations… Well, there's more administrative and bureaucratic crap to deal with than I thought. Everyone told me that's what it would be like, but it's different knowing about it and having to deal with it yourself."

"How can it still feel fulfilling when you have so much busy work to do? That's why I wanted to be a police officer-you also have paperwork and stuff, but most of the time you're actually out, on the streets, getting things done."

Zelda shrugged. "I mean, the bureaucratic stuff is annoying, but it actually is important too. You need those things to happen in order for the government to function properly. So when I feel like I'm not getting much done, I focus on the long-term goals. And besides, there are other times when I get to see my impact first-hand, like with that river cleanup last month, or when we got the new playground installed in Lanayru Elementary School."

"I get that," said Link as he pulled into the City Hall parking lot.

"Thanks for the ride," Zelda said, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door.

"No problem," said Link, and once again Zelda chanced a look at his face. He was smiling, and it was probably the warmest, most sincere smile Zelda had ever seen. Her chest tightened, and she looked away quickly, waving goodbye as she headed home.

* * *

The next day found Zelda preoccupied with infrastructure improvement requests. Zelda loved all of the beautiful trees in Hyrule, but their roots wreaked havoc on the city's roads, and it seemed that every street was in need of repairs. It was almost lunchtime, though, and Zelda could take a break for lunch and come back rejuvenated and ready to solve problems.

"Ahem," someone cleared their throat from her open door. Zelda looked up and saw Link standing in the doorway.

"Oh! Officer Kokiri, what brings you here today?"

Link flushed a little, although Zelda couldn't imagine why.

"Well, I thought I'd catch you before you took lunch. Can I come in?"

"Sure!"

Link looked relieved, and walked into the office, shutting the door behind. As the door clicked shut, Zelda started to suspect the reason for his visit, and she grew nervous. Link walked towards her, stopping several inches closer to her than he had been the last time he'd visited her at her office. He stood in front of her desk while she remained sitting, avoiding eye contact.

"I had fun at Telma's yesterday," he said, and Zelda nodded, looking up long enough to see a dangerously enticing gleam in his striking blue eyes. He cleared his throat again, obviously not sure how to interpret her silence, but soldiered ahead anyway.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to get coffee sometime. Maybe tomorrow afternoon, if you're free? We could just go across the street, since I know you don't have a lot of time."

Zelda felt her heart squeeze and fall at the same time. She at once felt the rush of pleasure that accompanies the knowledge that you are admired and desirable, and the sorrow of the impending loss of that affection. She stood and looked Link in the eyes. He deserved a straight answer.

"I'm sorry, Link, I think you're really great, but I don't date government employees. It has nothing to do with you, I just need to keep my work life professional."

"Oh," said Link, taking an involuntary step back. "Oh, I see, I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for, it's totally fine," said Zelda, trying to calm the panic she could see building in Link's face.

"Yeah. Well, I get it. I'll… see you later Madam Mayor," he said, turning and practically running from the room, head bowed in defeat.

Zelda sighed at his retreating form. Well, there went that. Zelda couldn't deny that she had been enjoying the sense of suspense and excitement that comes along with meeting someone with whom you could envision yourself romantically involved, but it was better to end it now, before either of them got too invested. She repeated that to herself multiple times that afternoon, like some sort of calming mantra, as she read through boring documents and made phone calls.

* * *

Several weeks passed, and while Zelda was plenty busy with other things, she found herself thinking about Link often. It didn't help that they kept running into each other. It was so bizarre, Zelda couldn't recall having ever seen him at City Hall before he'd come to the City Council meeting weeks before, but ever since then he seemed to pop up everywhere. Zelda might even be tempted to suspect him of stalking, except she could see the genuine panic in his eyes every time they ran into each other. She could tell he sincerely did not want to see her, and each time they crossed paths was a painfully uncomfortable dance of avoidance.

Zelda could be mature. She was completely willing to resume a normal, polite relationship with him, but he had to go and make everything so awkward. Although they kept seeing each other, he had barely spoken two words to her since "the incident," and it was getting annoying.

"Saria, can you please tell Link that he doesn't need to be so weird around me," Zelda said to her friend one day over lunch.

Saria set her fork down on her plate, looking up at Zelda with an exasperated expression.

"Zelda, you have to understand how painfully shy Link is around girls. Maybe it didn't seem like that when you guys were talking, but that's because I think you had some real chemistry! He's usually pretty quiet. It was really hard for him to ask you out, so he's feeling kind of crushed."

"Crushed? Come on, it's not like this is the first time he's been rejected. Everyone gets rejected sometimes. It's not my fault he can't handle it."

"I'm not saying it's your fault, or that he's justified or anything. I'm just trying to explain how embarrassed he's feeling, and hence how weird he's being around you. You've been rejected before, right? Remember what that feels like?"

Zelda nodded. She remembered the first time she had asked someone on a date-it was Sidon Zorza, Ruto's cousin, and she'd asked him to Winter Formal her junior year of High School. It was during that phase of her life where she was always looking for something to do to prove how much of an Independent Woman she was. Somehow, at the time, asking a guy out to a school dance was the the most feminist rebellion she could conjure up.

Sidon was an almost aggressively likable guy, so there had been nothing cruel about his rejection. He'd shot her his million-dollar grin, and said, "Thank you so much for asking! I'm so flattered! But I already told Hilda I'd go with her. I'm sorry! You know I think you're amazing, right?"

Even with his kind words, the rejection had hurt more than she'd thought it would. In fact, somehow his kindness almost made it worse, as if he were being generous with her embarrassing lack of smoothness. Suddenly, she found herself more able to commiserate with Link's awkwardness.

"I guess that makes sense. I'll cut him some slack."

"Good!" said Saria, and she moved some carrots around aimlessly in her salad. Zelda could tell there was something else on her mind, so she waited patiently for her friend to bring it up.

"Have you heard about Tropical Storm Ganon? They say it might progress into a hurricane some time this week," Saria said eventually.

"Another tropical storm? They keep saying they'll reach here, but they never do," responded Zelda carelessly. _This_ was what had Saria so preoccupied?

"Yeah, I know, but I heard this one has a pretty good chance of making landfall…"

Saria paused, and Zelda looked up from her own salad. Saria was unusually solemn, and it didn't suit her childlike features.

"I don't know, Zelda, for some reason I have a bad feeling about this one."

That gave Zelda pause. She wasn't a superstitious person in general, but she had noticed that Saria had uncanny intuition, so Zelda had made it a personal rule to always pay attention to her impressions. She made a mental note to tell the Fire Department to start putting sandbags up around key flooding points in the city, and was already composing an email to Ashei in her head.

Zelda would later thank the goddesses that she had listened to Saria, because Hurricane Ganon made landfall only four days later, and it was the worst hurricane Hyrule had ever seen.

 **END NOTE: Conflict is coming! Also, I definitely watched the National Spelling Bee in a bar once, so you know, it could totally happen.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Things really get moving in this chapter! I quite like how it came together, but I'd really like to hear your comments and suggestions. Please let me know if you are interested in where this story is going, as I'm not totally sure I'll continue after this chapter.**

 **I based the hurricane descriptions off of the typhoons I've been in, since I've never experienced a hurricane myself (although my understanding is that typhoons are exactly the same as hurricanes but in a different hemisphere). If you have experience yourself let me know if my descriptions sound accurate to you.**

The day before Hurricane Ganon made landfall was a blur. News of the severity of the storm was coming in from Koholint Island and Lorule, and it was not looking good. Zelda sent out numerous warnings and announcements to Hyrule residents, encouraging them stock up on water and non-perishable food, and suggesting that residents of lower Hyrule may want to evacuate to higher ground. She checked in with Ashei, the Fire Department, and the Police Department to ensure that everyone was on board with the citywide Hurricane Response Plan, and contacted the state to request additional recovery support.

Although the news was constantly updating with new estimates, it was generally agreed upon that the hurricane would arrive some time in the early evening, around 6 o'clock, so Zelda spent the afternoon frantically helping the Fire Department with sand barricades. The firefighters did most of the heavy lifting, but Zelda coordinated food and support.

Thoughts of supplies, medical care, housing, and recovery funds all flew through Zelda's head as she drove towards Eldin Bridge. The patter of rain on her windshield kept distracting her thoughts, it's insistent drum best almost taunting. The rain had been constant, albeit fairly light, all day, and it was an ever-present reminder of the impending potential disaster. Zelda tried to stay focused on the task at hand

The underpass under Eldin Bridge was easily flooded, and it was the last place the Fire Department planned to barricade. Zelda was wondering how effective the sandbag barriers would be when it suddenly hit her: she'd forgotten about the other generator.

Zelda had, as she'd promised, moved one of the generators Link had been worried about to higher ground. The generator by the Zorza Community Center had been moved uphill so it now resided at the Oocoo Public Library, which had also been designated a disaster relief center. Zelda had deemed that generator's removal more pressing as it was adjacent to the frequently flooded Zora River. However, the Ordon Middle School generator had not been moved, and it was situated in a low-elevation part of the city, close to the ocean.

While she was stopped at a red light, Zelda punched in the number for the Fire Chief into her phone.

"Chief Sheik? It's Mayor Harkinian. Can we add one more place for the Fire Department to barricade?"

* * *

Zelda's muscles were growing sore from the labor and numb from the rain at the same time, producing a strange jelly-like sensation in her appendages. She frantically tried to stack more and more sandbags around the generator, but each bag was quite heavy, and it was taking too long. The rain was falling down in thick sheets now, each sheet moving in visible waves when the wind blew especially strong. It was already 6:30, and the firefighters who had been building the barricade had left a quarter hour ago, believing that she was right behind them. She needed to get back to City Hall, where she could coordinate the city's response to whatever was to come, but here she was at Ordon Middle School, putting up a last ditch effort to stave off the inevitable.

To be fair, Zelda had fully intended to leave right after the firefighters, she just kept wanting to add one more sandbag-perhaps the next one would be the one to make a difference. This generator had been the one she had chosen not to move, so if it flooded and if that kept people from safety, she felt that it would all fall on her. She knew she needed to leave, but she just couldn't quite drag herself away.

"Zelda! What are you still doing here?!" She heard a voice shouting faintly through the wind.

She dropped the sandbag she was carrying in surprise and it fell with a splash onto the wet ground. Looking behind her shoulder, she saw Link materialize through the mist, wearing a long, dark green raincoat and a frown. She turned away from him and tried to pick up the fallen sandbag. _Just this one last one…_ she thought to herself, but the slippery bag was difficult to grab, and its heavy bulk was considerably harder to lift from the ground. As she struggled with the bag, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Zelda, the hurricane is already here. You need to get inside."

"What are you doing here Link?" She said, ignoring his concern.

"Chief Sheik was worried when he heard you hadn't reached City Hall yet. Chief Impa asked me to check and see if you were still here."

Zelda whirled around, abandoning the sandbag, and got right in his face.

"No! I need to fix this! I need to get this built before I go anywhere."

Link jerked backwards, caught off guard by her aggressive reaction, but his tone remained firm.

"There's nothing more you can do now. If this generator is going to flood, then it's going to flood. Adding more sandbags at this point isn't going to help."

Zelda scowled at him, and opened her mouth, readying a retort. If he didn't care enough about Hyrule to stay out in the rain and protect their energy sources, then that was his problem.

Somewhere deep inside, Zelda knew that Link was right. She was angry with herself, that she hadn't been able to move the generator earlier, and she was projecting that anger onto the most convenient target. Still, she could feel her stubbornness fading as the futility of her efforts became increasingly clear.

"-besides, you're not even supposed to stack sandbags more than three high," he finished, not giving her time to respond.

She wasn't sure why, but somehow this stupid point about proper sandbag-barricade height broke her defiance. The anger bled from her face, but it was soon replaced by despair. Seeing her spirits fall, Link moved forward and placed a bracing hand on her shoulder.

"It's OK. Let's just get inside and see what we can do to help after the storm passes. If it floods, that's when people will need our help the most, right?"

Zelda looked down, covering her misty eyes with her hand, as if Link could tell her tears from the rain anyway. She nodded silently.

"I'm supposed to be at Hyrule High with the rest of the Disaster Preparedness Committee, and you need to get to City Hall, but I'm not sure it's safe to go all that way right now," said Link, indecision marking his features.

"I need to get to City Hall. There are no other options," Zelda said flatly. She knew it wasn't safe in this weather, but it didn't matter. She would not let herself consider any alternatives.

She marched past Link to the parking lot, rain pelting her face, only to discover her car sitting in almost a foot of water. In her rush to help with the generator, she had parked it at the bottom of the sloping parking lot, which now resembled more of a small pond than anything else. She looked around for Link's truck, which would be much more difficult to flood with its high profile, but there was nothing else in the parking lot.

"How did you get here?" She yelled over the wind at Link, who had followed her to the parking lot.

"I walked! I live just down the street!"

"Ok, let's get to your car then head uptown!"

"Follow me," Link said, maneuvering around Zelda so he was between her and the main trajectory of the wind, then taking her hand.

Arm raised to protect his face, he walked urgently away from the parking lot and towards the street. Lost in her focus on the generator, Zelda hadn't fully realized how bad the storm had gotten. Several streetlights were bent slightly by the wind, and the occasional small tree branch whipped past them. They forged the already-flooding streets together for two blocks, the journey tense and foreboding, until they reached a simple grey, two-story bungalow, its windows already boarded up tightly. As they headed towards Link's truck, the awning from a neighboring house was suddenly ripped free and flew past them, missing Zelda by inches. Link, who had moved towards the drivers side of the truck, ran towards her, helping her steady herself.

"Mayor Harkinian, I don't think we can make the drive. We'll have to stay here until the storm passes."

"But I can't-!" Zelda started to say, but she was cut off by the cracking sounds of a branch being torn from a nearby tree.

At that point, Link was apparently done arguing with her, because he seized her by the wrist and pulled her towards the house. Zelda let herself be pulled. As much as she hated to admit it, it was clear they were not going to be able to get to City Hall, or Hyrule High for that matter, until after the storm passed.

"Fine, let's get inside!" she said, the reality of the potential injury the storm could cause them finally sinking in. They quickly reached Link's house, but even under the cover of the porch, Zelda still felt exposed. She waited for several tense moments as Link fumbled with his keys. As soon as he finally got the door open, they practically fell through the entrance and Link slammed the door shut, bolting it tight. He grabbed a walkie talkie from his coat and spoke through the static.

"Chief Impa, I've got the mayor. The storm has gotten too bad for us to get back to you. We'll be staying at my house until it's safe to move."

Zelda heard Impa's response from the other end, but she was too tired to focus enough on the words to process them. Zelda sat on the floor as Link ended the conversation and reached for several sandbags that he had left at the side of the door and dragged them in front of the door. He pulled off his boots and shucked off his raincoat, then reached a hand down for hers.

"Can I take your coat?"

Taking in a deep breath of air, Zelda struggled to her feet and took her own boots off, then handed her coat to him. Despite her high-quality raincoat, her clothing was wet through and through, and she soon started shivering.

"You're soaked!" exclaimed Link, voice heavy with worry. "We still have hot water for now… why don't you take a shower and I'll find a change of clothes for you?"

Zelda wanted to protest. She didn't really feel comfortable being in Link's house at all, much less getting naked in his shower and wearing his clothing. Still, she was so cold and miserable, and the threat of no hot water in the future was very real. She couldn't bring herself to say no.

"OK," she said in a soft voice, feeling defeated in every way.

Link led her up the creaky, narrow stairs to a neatly tiled bathroom. He handed her a large, fluffy towel, then turned to leave.

"Wait a moment, I'll get you some clothes."

Zelda heard him moving around in another room, presumably rifling through his dresser, and he soon returned with a faded Hyrule High Cross Country t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts.

"I think these should fit… Sorry, I don't have a lot of options."

"This is fine," she said. She just wanted to take her shower, and she was determined to ignore whatever embarrassing feelings might usually accompany a situation such as this.

Link let her be, and she locked the door and proceeded to peel off her sopping clothes, letting them fall to the ground with a solid thwack. Zelda stepped into the shower and let the hot water warm her skin in an utterly satisfying manner. She could still hear the wind and rain raging outside, but the storm hadn't quite reached its height yet, and she was able to drive the tempest from her mind at least for the duration of her shower.

She was soon dry and comfortable in Link's guest room, wearing his old high school t-shirt and basketball shorts that fell to her knees, feeling much better. Not much had changed, but she had a safe place to stay during the storm, and her natural optimism had returned. Hyrule had, after all, weathered many a storm before. They had made it through every time in the past, why wouldn't they be able to pull through this time?

She looked down at the Hyrule High Cross Country shirt and laughed. She should take a picture and send it to Saria-she'd probably have a heart attack. A small part of her was enjoying wearing Link's clothes. There was something intriguing and pleasurable about wearing a guy's clothing, like you were getting a small peak into their inner being. She shook her head, driving the idle thoughts from her brain, and continued getting ready for bed.

While she was drying her hair, seated primly on the bed, Link came by with extra blankets and a flashlight, in case the power went out.

"Do you want anything to eat? I made some soup…" he said, sounding hesitant.

"It's all right," responded Zelda, "I ate earlier. I think I'll just try and catch some sleep. Tomorrow is probably going to be a long day."

Link nodded, turning to leave. He stopped in the doorframe and said over his shoulder, "Let me know if you need anything."

"Of course. Good night, Link. And thank you."

* * *

Zelda woke at the sound of a sharp crack followed shortly by a deafening crash. She stood up in a strange bed, eyes wide, feeling utterly disoriented. The storm had increased significantly in intensity, and it sounded like a tree had fallen, possibly damaging a nearby residence. The wind was howling with a furor Zelda had never heard before, and its high-pitched whistle as it blew past the windows was disturbing. In something of a panic, Zelda fumbled at the nightstand next her to turn on the lamp, but once her fingers finally found the switch she discovered it was ineffective. She searched blindly for the flashlight Link had left with her, but was unable to locate it. She must have knocked it off the nightstand in her haste to turn on the lights.

"Link? ...Link!"

Zelda's voice started out small, but when it became clear that volume would not carry over the tumult of the storm, she shouted, fear lacing her voice.

A few moments later, Zelda felt the thud of Link's heavy footsteps against the floor moving towards her.

"Zelda? What's wrong?"

"Do you have light?"

Link clicked on a flashlight, and the a pale beam of light illuminated a small circle on the ground.

"Are you OK?" Link asked, and Zelda could see the worry on his face enhanced by the heavy shadows from his flashlight.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just…" Zelda trailed off, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Calling out to him had been something of a panic move. She hadn't really thought about how awkward it might be to ask Link to stay with her when she'd first called out to him; she just didn't want to be alone. She rose from the bed, not feeling comfortable lying in it with him around, and sat on the floor by the wall, next to where her cell phone had been charging before the electricity had presumably gone out.

She pulled the blanket she'd brought with her more tightly around her and looked up at him, abashed. Link looked back at her questioningly, but after a pause, the confusion on his face faded. He sat down next to her cross-legged, and set the flashlight on the ground, clicking it off to preserve the battery.

"I think I'll stay here for a while," he said, as if it were completely his idea, and Zelda nodded appreciatively. They sat there for several minutes, the roar of the wind outside the only sound invading their companionship.

"The storm seems… worse than usual."

Zelda could see Link's silhouette nod beside her.

"Yeah. I checked a little while ago, and my basement is already flooded. The storm isn't even close to being over yet."

Zelda couldn't suppress a shudder, thinking about what state the city might be in when she emerged from the house in the morning.

"I think I need to call for more help… The state is already planning on sending support, but this seems like it will be much worse than we thought."

Link nodded again.

"You're right. I've been here, in Hyrule, for every hurricane for the past twenty-five years, and this one is the worst I've seen."

Zelda pulled out her cell phone and frowned at the low battery warning. Luckily, although the power was out she still somehow had internet connection. She quickly searched for the Termina Police Department's phone number and punched it in. She figured the other state government departments wouldn't have anyone answering the phones this late.

"Hello? This is Zelda Harkinian, mayor of Hyrule. Please let the governor know that we will need additional resources for disaster relief tomorrow morning. Hurricane Ganon has been much worse than we anticipated."

She spoke with the operator for several minutes, estimating the extent of the flooding and emphasizing the need for more food, water, and housing than they had initially discussed with the state. There was so much to say, but she wanted to spare her battery, so after a brief overview of the essentials, Zelda hung up. She could only hope that the message would actually reach the governor. She leaned back against the wall with a heavy sigh, and Link shifted beside her. She was glad he'd stayed. Her initial fear up upon waking up at faded, but even in the darkness his solid form at her side was a comfort.

"This is going to be a long night," Zelda said, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Yeah," said Link in solidarity. He let a pregnant pause fill the space between them before getting to his feet, causing the floorboards to squeek.

"Wait a second, I'll be right back."

Link returned shortly carrying several objects in his arms that Zelda couldn't quite identify in the dark. First, he plopped what seemed to be a heavy bag into the space between them, then he set a solid, cylindrical object on the ground with a thunk, and Zelda heard a metallic clicking sound.

Dim light illuminated a two foot circle of space around the now-identifiable candle, and Zelda could now also see what Link had set down between them: a bag full of junk food.

"It's a Kokiri family tradition to eat crap on hurricane days," Link said with a grin, pulling a bag of cheddar and sour cream chips out of the bag.

Zelda perused the contents of the bag briefly before selecting several peanut butter cups. This "emergency stash" was surprisingly well-stocked. Zelda nodded with approval at the selection.

"Twix, Reese's, Ruffles, Takis, Ferrero Rocher, Sour Patch Kids… You're a man of refined tastes, Link."

Link laughed, and Zelda continued, wanting to produce the delightful sound again.

"-although I can't say I approve of your inclusion of Maltesers and Nerds. Still, I suppose they can't all be hits."

"Ok, now that's not fair! Maltesers are… well, you're actually right, they're terrible. Still, somehow I can't resist their chalky, wax-covered goodness."

Zelda smiled back at his rueful face, and for a moment she forgot the wind and rain outside.

"So… is this your parent's house? It seems a little big for just you."

Link's smile faded a little.

"Yeah, this is the house I grew up in, but it's just me now. My Dad died when I was young, and my Mom passed away a few years ago. I didn't want to sell the house, so I moved in."

"I'm sorry for your loss," said Zelda soberly. She had meant the question to initiate casual conversation, not bring up painful memories.

Link shrugged a little, unable to completely hide the sorrow in his expression.

"It's all right. It's been a little while. I'm glad I get to keep the house, though."

Zelda unwrapped the wrapper on her third peanut butter cup, using it to buy some time and get distance from her awkward faux pas. As she let the sugary peanut butter mess melt in her mouth, a realization suddenly dawned on her.

"Wait… So you live here?"

"...Yeah? I thought we already established this several hours ago," Link said dryly.

"But the other day, when you drove me home, you said it wouldn't be out of your way. You live way far away from City Hall."

Even in the dim light, Zelda could see the dark red that spread over Link's cheeks.

"Err… Well, I didn't exactly _say_ I lived near there… Hyrule isn't that big, so it wasn't an inconvenience or anything."

Zelda laughed long and hard, reveling in his discomfort. He didn't really need to be embarrassed; he'd already revealed his interest by asking her out, after all. Still, she was enjoying seeing the normally solemn man looking so flustered.

Once he realized she wasn't angry, that she just thought it was funny, the look of panic in Link's eyes faded, and he grew ever so slightly annoyed.

"Well I'm glad that I can at least be a source of entertainment for you in these troubled times," he said with no small amount of sarcasm.

"Oh, you've always entertained me, Link," Zelda said.

Link shot her an incredulous look, eyebrows raised, and Zelda blushed. She really shouldn't be saying these kinds of things to someone she had just rejected. Eager to distract from her blunder, she grabbed the snack bag and thrust a hand in, pulling out the first plastic-wrapped processed food item she touched. She ripped the plastic open without even knowing what it was and stuffed the contents in her face.

"What's our game plan for the morning?" Zelda asked around a mouthful of, unfortunately, Maltesers.

"Assuming the storm has passed by then, it depends on what conditions are like," replied Link, reaching for another snack of his own. "I need to get to Hyrule High and you need to get to City Hall, both of which are uptown. We can take my truck if the flooding isn't too serious, but we might have to take my boat."

Zelda nodded.

"It's lucky you have a boat. We could be stranded otherwise."

"Yeah," said Link. "I'm kind of worried about some of the other people in the neighborhood… We might want to check on some houses before we go to City Hall, if that's OK with you."

"Of course. My citizens' safety is always most important."

Link leaned back against the wall, a thoughtful look on his face. Zelda waited for a while for him to voice his thoughts, but he remained silent.

"...What is it?" asked Zelda, having lost patience.

"Oh nothing. I was just wondering why you want to be mayor. It seems a thankless job."

Zelda was about to give her normal response: that she loved Hyrule, that she wanted to serve her community, etc. but for some reason she didn't. All of those things were true, but they didn't really get at the heart of it.

"Did you take history with Mr. Dampe?" she asked.

"Yeah, one of my favorite classes. He was a good teacher, if a bit creepy."

"Well anyway, I remember my Junior year, I was in his class. One day we were talking about local history, and he told us the legend of the Princess and the Hero."

Link nodded, so Zelda continued.

"We learned about how the Princess struggled and sacrificed for years to protect Hyrule, and how eventually she and the Hero were able to save the entire land from the Evil King. I know it's just a legend, but when I heard that, I just felt like… Like I wish that I could make a difference like that. Sometimes it's hard to believe that any one person can make much of a difference about anything, but that story made me feel like maybe I could do it. And being the mayor seemed like the most realistic way to actually effect positive change for the whole city."

"Hmm."

Link, who had been listening intently, leaned forward and scratched his chin, looking very philosophical before ruining the entire image by stuffing the rest of a candy bar in his face.

"Interesting," he said cryptically, after successfully swallowing his chocolate.

"What's interesting?"

"Well, that same story was part of the reason I became a cop, but I got something very different from it. According to the legend, the Hero helped save Hyrule, but he did it not by saving _everyone_ , but by saving each person he came across, one at a time. Anyway, it made me think that the way to really help people is to do it on an individual basis, which is why I became a cop."

"Isn't it hard though? I mean, any time you're interacting with the cops, it's because something bad is happening. I think it would be difficult to always work with people when they are in bad or stressful situations."

Link shrugged.

"Yeah, that's true. It's not always easy, but I still get to help people. And somebody's gotta do it."

Zelda smiled at him. She doubted she'd ever met someone so consistently straightforward and sincere.

"Well, I am glad that Hyrule has police officers like you, Link."

"I'm glad Hyrule has a mayor like you, Mayor Harkinian."

"You can just call me Zelda."

"Ok… Zelda."

Zelda abrupty discovered that she was quite close to Link. Somehow in the past minute or so, while they had been shamelessly complimenting each other, they had been gradually leaning closer and closer to each other, eventually leaving barely a foot of space between them. Zelda suddenly found it very difficult to ignore Link's piercing eyes, the rugged five o'clock shadow that graced his jaw, and his enticing collarbone. And his lips, she didn't even want to think about his lips. Except that she did-a lot. It didn't make it any easier that she could tell he was thinking along the same lines. Almost against her will, Zelda found herself reaching a hand out to Link and running it along his shoulder. He let in a sharp intake of breath.

She could could do it, right? This was a stressful situation, and making out with a handsome police officer who was _definitely_ into her would be a nice distraction. Link scooted closer to her, and placed his own hand at her waist. Zelda savored the breathless anticipation that had taken firm hold of her.

"Z-Zelda?" Link asked, and Zelda looked into his eyes again, noticing for the first time how incredibly nervous he seemed.

It was at that moment that she realized she couldn't do it. Link was just so… genuine. She couldn't kiss him unless she meant to follow through, and she wasn't in a position to follow through. Nothing about their situation had changed since she'd first rejected him, all of her concerns still stood, and she shouldn't imply otherwise. She responded to his uncertain eyes with a reassuring smile and wrapped her arms around him for a firm hug, resting her head on his shoulder where she could no longer see his tempting face.

"Thank you, Link."

He hugged her back, giving her a solid squeeze, and Zelda felt all the tension, lustful and otherwise, drain from her body.

"No problem."

They both maintained the embrace for some time, and in their silence the raging of the storm grew louder. Somehow, despite the howling wind and torrential rain outside, Zelda felt safe.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oooh, I just got some major warm fuzzies! Also sorry for all the trash talk about Maltesers. I really don't like them, but it's cool of you do . There's no accounting taste, after all. :D Let me know what think and thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

 **At long last, another chapter! Some of the events in this chapter were based on real-life events, so it's kind of cool to know that there are real-life heroes out there in the world. I don't know very much about boats and boat safety, so let me know if anything I wrote doesn't make sense. Also I wrote this kind of quickly, so let me know if you see typos and etc.**

 **I hope you enjoy the story. I wasn't really sure I was going to continue it, since it doesn't seem like there's been a ton of interest, but I just hate the thought of abandoning a story. I'm going to try my best to get to the end, and hopefully some people enjoy it along the way. Thanks for the support! I really really appreciate every comment, it helps me stay motivated. :D**

* * *

"Madam Mayo-... Zelda," a voice interrupted Zelda's blissful rest. She ignored it, of course. She was so tired, and and nothing less than a major natural disaster would move her.

"Zelda!" the voice said again, this time more insistent. That was Link's voice, right? Zelda shot up, the details of the city's current situation coming back to her all in a moment. She grimaced, realizing that is really _was_ a major natural disaster forcing her awake.

"What time is it? Is the storm passed?" she asked, looking around her. She was sitting up in the bed in Link's guest room, presumably he'd moved her there after she'd fallen asleep. Link was standing in the doorway, heavy backpack slung over his shoulder. He was wearing tan trousers, tall rubber boots, and a bright green waterproof jacket, with his officers' badge pinned to the front.

"It's five in the morning. The worst of the storm is over, and it looks like it will be pretty hot today." He turned his head to look out the window into the dim morning light. "That's bad for people who don't have access to clean water. The flooding… it's pretty bad. We really need to get going."

Zelda let out a puff of breath and braced herself for what promised to be a long day. She rose creakily from the bed and headed towards the door, where Link held out her clothes for her. She grabbed them from him and frowned as she felt the weight of the still-damp cloth.

"It's still wet. Let's take it with us for now, and I can change later."

Link nodded, and turned to walk down the stairs, Zelda following quickly after. He stopped at the top of the stairs, though, and Zelda almost ran into him.

"The first floor is flooded," he said, and Zelda saw looking over his shoulder that it was true. The water rose to two feet above the bottom of the stairs, it's murky brown depths appearing decidedly foreboding. "We'll have to go out the window."

Zelda's eyes widened, and for the first time she realized just how bad the storm was. Link moved to his own room, prying at the stiff window, which had been painted shut, with a heave. Zelda just watched him, feeling somewhat numb. She felt glad Link was able to keep such a cool head.

Link managed to get the window opened, and he ducked his head through the pane and leapt into his boat, which was floating only a few feet below the windowsill. Zelda poked her head out the window, eyeing the bobbing boat with trepidation. It was a decently sized boat, about twenty feet long, flat with seats around the sides and a motor at the back. Link had somehow jumped onto it without losing his footing, and Zelda wanted to follow, she just couldn't get her shaky legs to obey her.

Link noticed Zelda's nervousness and pulled on the rope tying the boat to the house, dragging it closer to the windowsill. He reach up a hand to her, Steadying his foot on the side of the boat.

"Can you reach my hand? Do you think you can jump?"

Link's outstretched hand still looked a little far for comfort, but Zelda knew they didn't have time to deal with her hesitation right now. Besides, if she fell she'd just fall into the water. She could swim to the boat, and everything would be fine. That's what she told herself, at least, purposefully ignoring the fact that any number of sharp or otherwise dangerous things could be hidden beneath the surface of the water. She clutched her still-damp clothes to her chest with one arm, reaching the other hand out towards Link's, and jumped from the windowsill. Link's fingers closed around hers in a tight grip, and while Zelda's foot faltered a little at the edge of the boat, he was able to pull her safely in. She stumbled a little, falling into his chest. He held her tight until she got her footing, which was both annoying and comforting at the same time.

She found a seat, and finally took the time to survey Link's childhood neighborhood. The view was grim. Brown-grey water covered the entire neighborhood, reaching at least halfway up most houses' first floors. Now, the stately old homes in Link's neighborhood appeared more like squat sheds, the shorter houses' roofs barely clearing the floodwater. It was truly devastating. This was, of course, the lowest part of the city in terms of elevation. Zelda could only hope that the rest of Hyrule was in better shape.

Link fiddled with the motor for a while, eventually coaxing it to life. Zelda was rapidly going through her checklist of emergency procedures in her mind when he turned back to her.

"I know we really need to get to Hyrule High, but I'm pretty worried about some of my neighbors… Do you mind if we check on them first?"

Zelda had to admit, she honestly did feel a little resistance to the idea… She knew that human lives were most important, but she might be able to help more from their Emergency Headquarters than from here… Still, she decided she couldn't possibly abandon someone in their time of need.

"Of course. Let's just try and go as quickly as possible."

Link nodded solemnly, and they motored off towards a darkened one-story house further down the street.

The first thing Zelda noticed was the dog on the roof, followed shortly thereafter by a middle-aged woman and young boy. The mother, Zelda presumed, was holding a blanket over her son, trying to protect him from the hot sun. It really was turning out to be a blistering day.

"Uli!" Link yelled out, and, the woman looked up, hope lighting her eyes. "Uli, we can take you and Colin to Hyrule High. Do you want to go?"

Uli set her blanket down and stood up on the roof, waving her arms emphatically at Link and Zelda.

"Yes, of course! Anywhere dry is fine with me!"

Link pulled the boat up close to the house. He wanted to anchor it to something, but there wasn't really an appropriate post or buoy. He tried to keep the boat steady in the thankfully-calm water, and Zelda reached out towards the boy. Uli and the boy had scooted up towards the edge of their slanted roof, and Uli was preparing to hand him over to Zelda's waiting arms. The boat wobbled treacherously at the exchange, but Zelda managed to secure the boy and seat him safely inside. Then, it was Uli's turn. She took Zelda's outstretched hand, but Uli lost her footing on the awkward distance between the roof and the boat. Zelda tried to haul her into the boat, but Uli was too off-balance, and she fell directly into the murky water. Zelda held her breath for a long second, but Uli's head popped out of the floodwater moments later, gasping for air.

Link moved to the other side of the boat, instructing Colin to do the same to act as counterweights, and Uli was able to climb into the boat with Zelda's help. As soon as she made it into the boat, she collapsed against the deck, breathing hard. The dog, who had lept into the water after Uli, clambered into the boat after its master. Zelda reached for the life vests under the seats, and handed them to mother and son.

"Thank you so much," said Uli, as she helped Colin with his vest. "We've been out on the roof since before the storm ended. I wasn't sure how we were going to survive."

"No problem," said Link as he moved back to the motor. "I'm just glad you're OK. Do you know where Rusl is?"

"He's out of town for a couple of weeks, taking care of his mother," Uli said, letting out an ironic half sob, half laugh. "It just had to be this week."

Zelda moved to comfort the distressed woman, placing a soothing arm around her drenched shoulders.

"It's OK, you're both going to be OK. We're taking you to Hyrule High-that's where the City has set up emergency supplies, places to sleep, extra food, all that kind of stuff."

Uli turned her head towards Zelda, as if considering her for the first time. "Thank you so much. And you are…?"

"I am Zelda Harkinian," Zelda said, unsurprised that she was not recognized. Most people couldn't identify their local politicians on sight. "I'm the mayor."

"Oh," Uli said, eyes widening in recognition. "So… You and Link are just going around rescuing people?"

Link started the motor again and they headed down the street towards the main drag, which they would then take to the High School. Zelda grabbed Link's backpack, which he'd set down on the deck, hoping she'd find some kind of emergency blanket to help keep Uli warm. She figured she could be useful and chat at the same time.

"Not exactly… We're both part of the City's Emergency Preparedness plan, but we just happened to be in the neighborhood when the storm broke. I'm trying to get back to Hyrule High, and from there I will coordinate relief efforts. Link, I believe, has his own role to play."

Link nodded from his seat by the motor, and Uli accepted that as confirmation.

Colin, as Zelda learned the young boy's name was, remained quiet as they headed through the devastated neighborhood, and Zelda couldn't blame him. The area was almost unrecognizable, and Zelda tried to distract him from the occasional floating pet corpse or sunken car.

"What grade are you in?" she asked, voice kindly.

"Fifth," Colin said, eyes remaining fixed on yet another flooded building. He absentmindedly petted his dog, and Zelda figured at least the dog might provide some form of comfort for him.

"So close to Middle School!" said Zelda, desperately searching for some way to redirect his thoughts. It seemed as if the boy might be in shock. "Are you excited to start Middle School?"

Colin shook his head silently, then looked back at the row of sunken houses.

"I loved Middle School. Looking back, it was pretty awkward, but at the time it was such great fun! I took drama, even though I'm terrible at it, and I was even in the school play! Have you ever been in a school play?"

Colin never provided any more than monosyllabic answers, but Zelda found herself babbling on. She eventually wondered if her chatter was for his sake or hers, but Zelda couldn't help it. There they were, motoring through the absolute devastation of her city. She wanted to be doing something to help- _needed_ to be doing something to help. And so Uli, Link, and Colin all remained relatively quiet, while Zelda talked.

* * *

Zelda felt a significant measure of relief when Proxim Bridge appeared in view several hours later. That meant they were over halfway to Hyrule High, and the water level had decreased significantly. The water in these neighborhoods only barely reached up to the first floor, and Zelda guessed that they'd need to get out of the boat and walk soon. But first, they need to cross the river.

Although the flood levels appeared to be decreasing, the buildings closer to the bridge were more flooded than their neighbors. The bridge passed over a branch of the Zora River that was normally quite small and narrow, but the river was now greatly swollen by the storm, and the bridge was completely flooded. The water was, thankfully, not moving too quickly, and Zelda guessed they would not have difficulty crossing the river. As they drew closer to the river, Zelda could make out a figure standing on the wall of the bridge, next to a partially submerged car, waving towards them frantically.

"Hey! Over there! Help!"

Zelda moved to the back of the boat, shaking Link's shoulder urgently.

"Link, there's a woman over there, by the car! Do you see her?"

"Yeah, I'm headed that way now."

Zelda went to the front of the boat, leaning forward so she could assess the situation as soon as possible. When they reached the car, the woman on the wall began gesticulating wildly towards the car, which had somehow ended up on the opposite side of the wall from the bridge, in the riverbed, and was rapidly disappearing underneath the water.

"My fiancee! He's stuck in the car! Please, please help us" she cried in desperation.

Link stood immediately, strippinng off his jacket.

"Zelda, take the tiller and hold it steady."

Link and Zelda swiftly traded places, Link moving to the front of the boat as Zelda moved back Link picked up a heavy oar as he went, and once the boat was close enough, he began bashing in the rear window of the car, the only window still visible above the water. After several good thumps, the window gave way, and without another word, Link slipped into the floodwater. He swam towards the car, maneuvering through the broken window and disappearing underneath the brown surface.

Zelda's heart stopped, and she felt certain it did not beat once the entire time Link was concealed beneath the water. For what felt like ages the water remained undisturbed, until finally Zelda caught sight of a single arm reaching out the window and grasping the side of the car. Link's head soon followed, and he pulled his body out the window, dragging an unconscious form after him. It was tricky, moving both himself and the woman's fiancee out of the small window, and Zelda winced as she saw skin drag across broken glass, but Link somehow managed it. The man's legs slipped free of the car, and the car finally surrendered to the depths completely, disappearing from view.

Link swam doggedly towards the boat, one arm stroking as the other hooked around the man's chest. Zelda maneuvered the boat as close to them as she dared, and Uli moved to the front of the boat to help them in. With a massive heave, Link somehow got the man far enough out of the water that Uli was able to latch on to him, and with sheer determination the diminutive woman awkwardly hauled the limp body into the boat. Link took a moment to tread water, catching his breath, then lifted himself into the boat as well.

As soon as they were both securely inside, Zelda abandoned her post at the motor and appeared at the man's side. He was lying flat on the deck, Uli and Link hovering uncertainly over him, and he was not breathing.

"Move aside, I can help," said Zelda with surety. In truth, she actually was quite confident, not because she had assessed the situation and judged herself well-prepared, but rather because the adrenaline pumping through her veins did not give her time for self-doubt.

She knelt next to the unbreathing man and checked for a pulse. She felt a weak beat under her fingers, but that would help him little if he did not start breathing again soon. Zelda tilted his head back to open his airway, and began pushing on his stomach. She pumped and pumped, then took a break to pinch his nose and breath into his mouth. She repeated the process two, maybe three times, until the man finally expelled water out in several gurgly coughs and started breathing. Zelda sat back in relief, and she heard the woman, still standing on the wall, let out a strangled sob. Link moved the boat closer to the wall, and helped the woman onboard. She immediately knelt next to her fiancee's side, stroking his hair and weeping.

"He's… he's going to be alright, right?" she said through her tears.

Zelda nodded. "I think so. But we need to get him to the High School. They have trained nurses there who can take better care of him than I can."

Link seemed to agree, because he'd already started up the motor and begun crossing the river.

"What's your name," Zelda said, hoping if she got the woman talking she might be able to calm her down.

"A-A-Anju. And this is Kafei," she said, looked down affectionately at the pale face now resting in her lap.

"Well," said Zelda, reaching for another set of life vests for the couple, "Kafei is going to be just fine. I'm so happy we arrived when we did."

"I… I am too. Thank you so much," Anju said, then she started to sob again. "I thought I'd lost him."

"But he's OK now, and we're all going to go to the High School. There will be nurses, and food, and a clean, dry place to sleep."

Uli let out a heavy sigh.

"That sounds like heaven."

The whole group fell silent, each of them looking forward to the relief Hyrule High promised. Zelda looked back at Link, and noticed for the first time the red seeping through his shirtsleeve on his left arm. She dug into his bag again, eventually locating some alcohol swabs and gauze.

"Link, you're bleeding."

Link looked down at his arm and noted the wound with surprise. Zelda moved to sit next to him, gauze and swabs in hand, but Link protested.

"I need to steer, we can take care of this after we get there."

"No way," insisted Zelda, prepared to be stubborn. "This water is filthy, it will get infected."

Link let out a huff, then obediently rolled up his sleeve, switching to grasp the tiller with his right hand. Sure enough, there was a long, messy gash on Link's upper arm, probably caused by the broken glass in the car window. Zelda wiped the wound thoroughly with several alcohol swabs, and Link winced slightly in response. Once she was satisfied the gash was clean, She tied the gauze around his arm, pulling it a little tighter than she knew would be comfortable.

"Thanks," he said, briefly taking his eyes from the path ahead of them to look onto her eyes with gratitude.

"You're welcome," Zelda said. After all he'd done today, she felt that he was the one truly deserving of thanks. Now didn't feel like the right time to express those thanks, however. Somehow she didn't want to say it with all of these people around.

"How close are we, do you think? What will we do once we can't take the boat any more?" she said instead.

I think we'll be able to leave the boat pretty soon. I'll have to tie it to a telephone pole. Thankfully, we're already within walking distance of the High School. We'll probably have to leave some people behind with Kafei, then send a car back for him. He's not well enough to be moved."

Zelda nodded in agreement, then leaned back against the side of the boat, releasing a heavy sigh.

"This is only the beginning, you know," she said, voice small.

"Yeah. I know," Link said grimly.

* * *

In about a half hour, they reached Regencia Park and the water was no longer deep enough to use the boat. Link carried Kafei to a park bench as the rest of their band trudged through the water, which still reached up to their knees. Zelda talked with Anju, Uli, and Colin, deciding who would stay with Kafei while the others walked to the High School, while Link went back to the boat and tied it to a phone pole with a heavy chain. By the time he made it back to the bench, Zelda had decided to stay with Anju and Kafei while Link, Colin, and Uli made for the school. Truth be told, Zelda felt a measure of nervousness staying behind in the flooded park without Link, but she didn't feel right leaving the distressed couple by themselves.

"I'll send a squad car or ambulance back as soon as I get there," Link said, sensing her discomfort. "I'm pretty sure you'll get prioritized, seeing as you're the mayor and all," he said with a smile. Zelda forced back an answering grin.

"One of the perks of the job, I guess."

Link let out a short laugh, probably more to acknowledge her attempt at levity than out of genuine emotion, but Zelda appreciated it. He clapped her on the shoulder reassuringly.

"I'll be back soon, I promise."

Zelda looked around them briefly, and saw that the others were out of earshot.

"Thank you, Link." Zelda looked down for a moment, fiddling with her hands. "You were really amazing today, you helped so many people."

Zelda looked back up, and Link looked bashful, unsure of how to respond to the compliment.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you…" he said, cheeks reddening.

Zelda laughed a little at his awkward modesty, then she took a step back.

"You guys should get going. The sooner you get there, the better."

Link nodded his head, and he, Uli and Colin were soon wading away through the water, towards warmth and safety. Zelda turned back to the park bench where Kafei lay, his fiancee sitting next to him, not daring to take her eyes off of him. Zelda understood her nervousness-Link had left a few First Aid supplies with Zelda, but if Kafei's condition worsened, Zelda honestly didn't know what she could do for him. Exhausted both emotionally and physically, Zelda found another bench not far from the couple (they were taking up the whole bench they were on), and sat down, letting her mind shut down. There was nothing she could do until the car arrived, so she gave herself this time to not think of anything. She knew despite her discomfort, this would likely be one of her rare moments of rest in the coming days.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

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 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks so much for the favorites, follows, and comments, I really appreciate it. Let me know what you think of Link and Zelda's personalities-does it feel like they fit the spirit of their characters? I've tried to make Link kind of stoic and brave, but sometimes I feel like he talks too much.**

 **Disclaimer time! There is some mention of waiting for the Coast Guard in this chapter. I just want to make it clear that I have the utmost respect for the Coast Guard in real life, this is just a plot element in the story.**

* * *

An hour later, which was honestly sooner than Zelda had expected, she saw the telltale red-and-blue lights of a police car making its way towards their park bench camp. A black police SUV forded the floodwater, easily parting the muddy depths until it reached them, and Chief Impa rolled down the window to call to Zelda.

"Mayor Harkinian, are you OK? Are the two other people with you in any immediate danger?"

Zelda leapt to her feet, motioning to Anju to get up. Anju looked up, relief flooding her features at the sight of safe transport. She gently shook Kafei, but the dark-haired young man did not stir.

"No, we're OK," Zelda responded, "Or rather, one of us is unconscious, but other than that we can move."

"Great," said Impa with a weary voice, "Get on in."

Zelda got the sense that Impa had heard very little good news today. At forty, Impa was fairly young to be Police Chief, and her uniformly silver hair had always looked as if it belonged on an older person. Today, however, it seemed to fit her.

Another police officer emerged from the back of the car and helped Anju with Kafei, and soon the injured man was carefully positioned in the back seat of the car. Zelda took the front seat next to Impa, and Impa reported the damage.

"...Most of Lower Hyrule is flooded, although the very worst of it was in Ordon, near the Middle School. A decent number of folks have shown up at the High School for shelter, but I don't think enough people know about it. Also, I'm worried there are people who wouldn't be able to make it to the High School, even if they knew there were beds and food available."

Zelda rubbed her temples. There was just so much to be done. A small, selfish part of Zelda wished she was back waiting on the park bench. There, she couldn't do anything to help even if she'd wanted to. Now, the ability to act came accompanied with the imperative to save, and she felt the full weight of her responsibility settle back onto her shoulders. Still, in the end it was a responsibility she'd chosen for herself. She wouldn't let the people of Hyrule down.

"Has the police force been out trying to find people then? What is being done?" she asked.

"We have, but we don't have that many vehicles. The Coast Guard is supposed to be arriving soon, but they aren't here yet. And they won't have a lot of the knowledge of the area that would help." Impa's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "I'll do my best to coordinate with them, but it won't be easy."

"What about the shelter? Are we OK with food and water? What about beds?"

"There's enough food and water for now… But Zelda, Ganon was worse than we expected. We did not plan for this much of the city to be under water. Not everyone has made their way to the shelter yet, but I think we will probably run into shortages before long."

Zelda let herself sink further into her seat, then tilted her head back so she could stare at the ceiling. It was easier than looking out the window, where she'd have to bear witness to the fallen trees, smashed windows, and damp refuse that marred the once-beautiful streets of Hyrule.

"Thanks so much for taking care of things last night. I really wish I had been there."

Impa looked at Zelda sideways.

"It's fine. Your Emergency Preparedness Committee did a good job. And there wasn't much anyone could do during the storm..."

Impa trailed off, and Zelda sensed there was more the stern woman wasn't saying. She waited, but of course Impa did not volunteer her thoughts. Zelda sighed, guessing she'd have to drag it out of her.

"What is it, Impa? Did something happen?"

Impa hesitated, cleared her throat, then spoke.

"It's nothing serious, Madam Mayor. I just…" she shot Zelda another sidelong glance, "I think I've seen Officer Kokiri wear that shirt before, at a department picnic."

Shocked into silence for several moments, Zelda finally managed a weak scoff and roll of her eyes.

"My clothes were soaked, so I had to borrow some of his. Why does _everybody_ have to notice that?"

"Well, it's a little hard _not_ to notice." Impa said with a smirk.

Zelda sputtered a few more weak disclaimers, but Impa just laughed them off. Still, Zelda didn't really mind. As embarrassed as she was, both she and Impa were grateful for the distraction, however brief and frivolous, from the task at hand.

* * *

Hyrule High School was built on a hill higher up on the gentle slope upon which all of Hyrule was built, so by the time Chief Impa pulled into the parking lot, there was not an inch of floodwater to be seen. The parking lot was jammed with cars, which was a good sign to Zelda-it meant a decent amount of people had come to the High School before the water was too high to drive. There were also some supply cars, cop cars, and other vehicles clogging the area, but overall the scene wasn't too chaotic. Zelda thanked the goddesses for that.

Kafei and Anju were rushed off to the first aid area, which was located in the High School's home ec rooms. The nurses assured Anju that Kafei was going to be fine, and Zelda felt one of her many burdens being lifted from her shoulders. Zelda bid the couple farewell, as she needed to go find Ashei. She knew Ashei had planned to set up her headquarters in the Principal's Office, but she decided to walk through the gym first. The gym was where the town's refugees were to be housed.

Zelda walked briskly through the halls of her old high school, passing other similarly-focused volunteers and some wandering, dazed-looking citizens. There were plastic tubs of supplies, bright yellow volunteer vests, and people everywhere. It was strange and disorienting to walk through her own High School, now being used for such a different purpose and being put in such a different context than it had been in her youth. She reached the gym and saw every inch of it covered in cots. People lay on their humble beds across the floor where she'd sullenly participated in PE over ten years ago, the few belongings they'd managed to bring with them stacked up around them, the only small pieces of home they'd been able to preserve. Zelda was grateful to see that most of the inhabitants of the gym looked healthy, if a little shell-shocked. She wandered around the gym, eyes searching for some familiar sight, although she wasn't quite sure who or what she was looking for. Zelda left the gym without examining her behavior too closely.

Zelda found Ashei in Principal Gaebora's office. Ashei sat in Principal Gaebora's tall-backed chair, radiating authority like an empress surveying her kingdom. Or actually, upon further reflection, more like a dictator reviewing her domain. When Zelda entered the office, Ashei was talking to a harried-looking volunteer who hung on her every word.

"We need those extra beds to be set up _now_. Have you finished prepping the cafeteria yet?"

"Y-y-yes ma'am! I set up all 200 beds myself, but I don't think we have enough blankets."

"Look, Jiro," Ashei said with a sigh, and the exasperation in her voice compelled Zelda herself to stand up a little straighter, "I can't do everything for you. Find a way to get blankets on those beds by tonight, yeah?"

Jiro's head bowed and he mumbled a response, looking utterly defeated. Zelda's heart went out to both of them-Ashei was doing her best to keep things moving in a stressful situation, and all of the pressure was clearly getting to Jiro. Zelda caught Ashei's eye, and Ashei immediately brightened. Before Ashei could say anything, Zelda shot her a look, silently begging for mercy on behalf of the hapless volunteer. Ashei noticed the look, and her expression softened.

"Try talking to Cotera," she said, addressing Jiro again. "She should be able to help you with the blankets. Just… do your best, yeah? Your work is keeping people warm and safe, yeah, and everyone appreciates it."

Jiro dared to look up, and gave Ashei a half smile.

"I'm on it, ma'am," Jiro said, then he fled the room in search of blankets.

Zelda sat down in the chair opposite Ashei, feeling a little like a schoolgirl about to get detention. Ashei leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples and closing her eyes.

"Ashei, you don't have to scare people to get things done," said Zelda, half-teasing and half-reproachful.

"You're one to talk about scaring people, Zelda! Everyone was wondering where you were, yeah. I'm so glad to see you."

Ashei stood, reaching across the table to hug Zelda. Zelda hugged her back, a little taken aback by the normally-frosty Ashei's sudden display of affection.

"Thanks, Ashei. It's nice to know you care."

"Stop teasing, Zelda. We really were worried, yeah."

Zelda broke from the embrace, sitting again in front of Ashei's desk.

"I know, I'm sorry to worry you. I should have come back to City Hall earlier, but I waited too long, and the storm…" Zelda grimaced at the memory. "Well, I'm here now. What can I do to help? How are things going?"

Ashei looked up, her features considering.

"Things are going… surprisingly OK. Thankfully, quite a few people listened to the evacuation warnings, and either left town or came here, yeah. Of course, that means our resources here will be stretched thin, yeah. We have enough food for today, but if a lot more people show up in the next 24 hours, which they probably will, we're not sure that we'll have enough food for everyone before supplies from the Coast Guard come in. I've been on the phone with them, yeah, but they keep saying they won't get here with supplies for another two days at least."

"Hmmm," said Zelda, mind racing, "I'll focus on the food issue, if that's OK with you."

Ashei shrugged, "Sure, I could alway use more heads dealing with these things, yeah. I've also got security concerns, medical supplies, and rescue efforts to worry about."

A knock at the door interrupted their discussion, and Ashei looked over Zelda's shoulder, as if she could see through the frosted window in the door with Principal Gaebora's named painted across the glass.

"We should talk more, but I need to see who this is first, yeah. Do you mind?"

"Not at all," said Zelda.

"Come in," Ashei said loudly, and Link walked into the stuffy office. The bright green of his jacket forced Zelda to realize that he was who she'd been looking for in the gym; she'd been more worried about him than she'd allowed herself contemplate. He looked tense, his eyebrows tightly knitted together, but they seemed to relax somewhat at the sight of Zelda.

"Oh, you made it back! Is Kafei OK?"

Zelda sent him a tired smile.

"He was doing well the last time I saw him. He's in the First Aid Room now."

"Good," said Link. He paused, and looked as if he wanted to say more to Zelda, but wasn't quite sure what. He never found the words, so instead he turned back to Ashei, leaving Zelda feeling mysteriously disappointed.

"Ashei, I got permission from Chief Impa to go back out to the flooded areas for search and rescue, but I'm running low on fuel. Do you guys have any to spare?"

Ashei sighed heavily, expression grim.

"I don't know, Link, we need the fuel for ambulances and to transport supplies. We thought the Coast Guard would be doing this kind of thing, yeah, so we didn't allot any of our supplies to search and rescue, yeah."

Link's normally passive features grew agitated. It felt strange to see Link upset, almost unsettling.

"I know it wasn't part of the plan, but the Coast Guard isn't here yet. We can't afford to wait for them, people are stranded!"

Zelda had known Ashei for many years now, and she was familiar enough with the cool, dark-haired woman to know that she would not react well to direct challenges to her authority. Ashei's face darkened, and Zelda quickly stood and stepped between the two before tensions could escalate.

"Link, I can get you some fuel. And no," she said, raising a hand to stop Ashei's objection before she raised it, "it's not a part of the Disaster Preparedness Committee's cache, don't worry. Ashei, I'll be back in 20 to talk about food. Link, follow me and I'll get you some gas," Zelda said briskly, turning from Ashei and heading for the door. She collected Link along the way, grabbing his hand and pulling him from a potentially time-wasting argument.

Moments later, they were walking down the taupe-colored halls of Hyrule High together, and the bizarre sense of deja vu that had been following Zelda since she'd arrived at the school returned.

"So where's this mysterious fuel cache you mentioned," asked Link, and Zelda could see that his eyes purposefully avoided glancing towards their still-joined hands. She let her fingers slide from his grip, but a part of her mourned the loss of contact.

"It's in the janitor's shed, by the pool," Zelda replied, "I'm pretty sure there's fuel there for the lawnmower. After that runs out… Well you'll probably have to siphon gas from abandoned cars."

Link nodded grimly, and something about the set of his jaw reminded Zelda of something… some distant memory she couldn't quite grab hold of. She became aware of the fact that she'd been staring at him for an uncomfortably long time, and forced herself to look elsewhere. As they left the administration building and crossed the quad towards the pool, her eyes fell on the fountain in the middle of the quad. She remembered eating there, seated on the cement sides of the fountain, when the weather was good. It was the sight of that fountain that suddenly jogged her memory.

"Oh my gosh! You're… that guy?"

Link turned to Zelda, single eyebrow quirked upwards in bemusement.

"What? What guy?"

"You're the guy who found my backpack in 12th grade!" Zelda said, the sudden rush of memories exciting her. "Someone stole it from my locker, and you returned it to me!"

"Oh… you remember that?" Link said, looking abashed for some reason. "It really wasn't a big deal."

"Yeah, maybe not," said Zelda, and immediately regretted it as she saw Link's face fall. "I mean, maybe it wouldn't be a big deal now, but at the time I was so worried! All of my Calc notes were in there, and I was taking the AP Test really soon. You were a real lifesaver!"

Link's wry smile returned and he chuckled. It was getting warm outside, so Link paused by the fountain to take his jacket off. Zelda was pleased to see a gauze bandage around his arm where he'd cut himself beneath the jacket. At least he'd gotten that taken care of before going off in his boat.

"It was so long ago, it really was nothing."

"So you did remember? This whole time you knew?" asked Zelda as they continued on towards the shed. She felt uncomfortable that he'd been interacting with her this whole time with the knowledge of that memory, while she had been totally oblivious to it. It didn't really mean anything, Zelda knew that, but somehow it made her feel like she'd been at a disadvantage.

"I mean, of course I remembered you. Everyone knew you, so of course I remembered the one and only time I ever talked to you in High School."

Zelda thought back to that day, when she'd opened her locker to find it empty so many years ago. At that age, it really had felt like the end of the world. She'd stayed after school for swim practice, and she'd been in a rush to get home and do homework. She'd looked around frantically once she'd found the locker bare, but the whole school had already been deserted for a while. There was no chance the person who'd stolen it was still around, and what's more there was no one to talk to, no one to ask for help. Whoever had taken her backpack was long gone.

She'd sat down on the edge of the fountain in the middle of the quad and cried. Zelda was no stranger to bullying-she was pretty popular at school, but there were plenty of people who disliked her as well. Her father was one of the wealthiest men in Hyrule, so some of her classmates tended to think of her as spoiled or stuck up, regardless of how she actually treated people. She'd been sitting on the hard, dirty concrete of the fountain for some time when a scrawny, blond-haired freshman in a green t-shirt walked up to her and asked her if she was missing her backpack.

"How did you find my backpack, anyway?" Zelda asked, bringing herself back to the present. "I never asked."

Link shrugged.

"The kid who'd stolen it was bragging about it, so I found him, and made him give it to me."

"'Made him'?" asked Zelda, and Link's ominous words made her curious as to how he would look angry. It was difficult to imagine, but she had a sense that it would be quite unpleasant to be the target of his rage.

"It's better we don't go into that. It might reflect poorly on me, now that I'm a peace officer."

They were both still laughing when they reached the shed. It was padlocked, but Zelda had picked up a pair of bolt cutters from the gym in anticipation of this obstacle. She raised the cutters up to Link.

"Given the circumstances, you don't think Principal Gaebora will mind, right?"

"He'll live," said Link.

Zelda cut the lock, and they walked into the darkened shed. After some fumbling about, and nearly tripping over a mop, Zelda found three cans of gas. She silently blessed creepy old Janitor Kilton for buying in bulk.

"Here, three full cans of gas," she said, dragging one of the cans over to Link, then kicking it firmly. The can responded with a reassuringly deep sloshing sound.

"This is perfect. Thanks so much Zelda." Zelda thought she could see his eyes shine with gratitude, despite the darkness,

"Of course. Thank you for going out and looking for people. How are you… How will you know where to go?"

Zelda's eyes had adjusted to the dim room by then, so she could see Link shrug in the dark.

"It would be nice to have names and addresses, but I don't have time for that now. I'll just have to go to badly flooded neighborhoods and help whoever I find."

Zelda paused, for the first time considering the wisdom of what Link was planning. Oh, it was undeniably noble and worthy to try and rescue those stranded by Hurricane Ganon, but it was also risky.

"...Are you sure you'll be OK? There could be looters, leaking gas, downed power lines, and who knows what in the water…"

Zelda's imagination ran wild, and she saw the myriad ways Link might injure himself flash before her eyes… It simply wasn't acceptable.

"Yeah," said Link, grimacing. "I'll be careful."

Zelda frowned. Careful wasn't good enough, and there was something about the way Link said it that gave Zelda pause.

"Wait… are you going _alone_?"

Link shifted, and even in the dark Zelda could see that he was avoiding her gaze.

"Everyone else in the department is busy with their assignments…"

"So you're going out there by yourself?" Zelda asked incredulously.

She lauded Link's desire to rescue those who had been stranded by the storm, but that didn't excuse him being reckless with his own life. It was in that moment Zelda realized that Link's safety mattered to her, not just in the general way that all humans mattered to her, but in a more personal way. She eyed the gauze wrapped around his arm and her chest tightened

"Yeah," Link said with a shrug, clearly unaware of Zelda's recent epiphany. It was funny how he could be so oblivious to something that was shaking Zelda to her core.

"Don't you at least have a partner or something? Shouldn't you go with him?"

"Ravio? He hasn't shown up yet. I was actually going to check out his neighborhood first."

Zelda crossed her arms, dissatisfied with Link's responses. What would she do if he hurt himself? If he passed out or was injured or ran out of gas, who knew how long it would take to find him again. She tapped her foot against the ground, trying to channel her anxiety from her head out through her limbs. It wasn't working.

"Still, it's not safe to go by yourself. Isn't there anyone who can go with you?"

"I don't think so… everyone has their duties already assigned, and it's important all of those things get done. This… this is what I can do. It might not be safe, and it might not be much, but I have to do what I can."

Zelda fell silent. She could sense his resolve, and knew she would not be able to sway him. Still, she wracked her brain for something she could do to guarantee that he would come back, something she could do to keep him safe. No matter how her mind circled, she came up short.

"Zelda? Is everything alright?" Link asked hesitantly, and Zelda realized that she had been silent for some time.

"Oh, I'm fine. I just…" Zelda reached out through the darkness, her fingers eventually finding the gauze binding Link's arm. She fingered the frayed fabric gently for a moment. Link flinched under her touch, and her hand jerked back reflexively. What on earth had she been thinking? Hadn't she decided, multiple times now, that she wasn't going to let herself get involved with him?

"I'm sorry, just, please be careful," Zelda said. Zelda sensed her resolve to distance herself from him hardening, but even as she became aware of it she could no longer accept it. Regardless of her personal rules, Link was an amazing person who deserved her respect. What's more, he deserved to have someone out there in the world who was worried about him-someone who waited for his safe return. Maybe she wouldn't always be that person, but she decided that she would be that person today.

She stepped a little closer to Link, so he could see her better in the dim light. She mustered up the summation of her sincerity and courage so he could know the promise her words carried.

"Come back, OK?"

Link's bewilderment gave way to understanding, which in some ways was more terrifying than his confusion. He reached for her hand, the same one that had touched his arm, and squeezed it briefly. That same hand then moved up to her face to brush against her cheek. It took Zelda a moment to realize he was wiping away tears-tears that she had begun shedding without even realizing it.

"I will, I promise," he said, his face leaned forward and his voice low. Zelda shivered despite the warm, muggy air.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm crying," Zelda said, ducking her head and rubbing at her traitorous eyes with her wrists.

Link's hands dropped to his sides, but he kept talking in that quiet, comforting voice.

"A devastating hurricane has just rampaged through our town, of course you're crying. And… And… things are really tough, but you're doing a great job, Zelda."

"Thank you, Link," Zelda said, with only intermittent sniffling. "Thank you… for everything."

Link smiled at her as he fiddled restlessly with his fingers at his sides. Zelda thought that he was probably resisting the urge to touch her again, and she wished he'd just do it. Instead, he grabbed the gas can at his feet and lugged it out of the shed.

"Can you help me with the gas? I really should get going"

"Sure," Zelda replied, holding back her disappointment. He was right-time was short.

As she helped haul the gas to the parking lot, she selfishly wished Link would stay. She thought up all kinds of justifications: he'd already risked himself enough, there was plenty he could do at the high school, the Coast Guard would be arriving soon, etc, etc. She gazed at his back as he trudged along in front of her, and she grew ashamed of her short-sighted thoughts. Link wasn't scared, he wasn't letting fear, or a sense of self-preservation hold him back. He wasn't letting his… personal feelings get in the way of helping the people of Hyrule. Zelda needed to follow his example, and do what she could here.

They'd both do their part, she told herself, and just pray to the goddesses that they'd make it out OK.


End file.
